


Over in Seconds

by sskinner155



Category: Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (Movies)
Genre: Friendship, Hogwarts Setting, Missing Scene, Pre-Movie 1: Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, Teenage Leta Lestrange, Teenage Newt Scamander
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-19
Updated: 2019-07-20
Packaged: 2020-05-15 00:09:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,948
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19284049
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sskinner155/pseuds/sskinner155
Summary: Newt shows Leta an animal he has been caring for in the forest, both unaware how this moment will effect their lives and futures. (Missing scene fic)





	1. Chapter 1

Leta had a free period after lunch. For a long time, she hated free periods, while the rest of her classmate would group together and play some games or head out around the lake, she would mossy her way to the library or her room. Always alone, no one bothering to even ask her to join.

However, this year was different. This year her free period match up with Newt's. It had been a breath of fresh air the day the two had gotten their schedules, for one year she wouldn't have to hid away from everyone pretend it didn't bother what was whispered about her.

As the students trickled out from the great hall and the teachers with them Leta watched Newt. His burnt brown hair was unkempt and his lips in a line he had been quite all lunch and would make several glances to the door then back to the teachers table. She had asked him if something was wrong but he brushed it off and continued to eat but a pit was forming.

Finally when the last teacher, Professor Dumbledore got up from the head table and started encouraging the stragglers to move on Newt got up. Leta stumbled after him struggling to get all of her books back into her bag.

"Newt wait! Where are you going?" They normal headed to the owlery or one of them many places he had an animal hidden in.

"I have something to do." He said.

"What? I can help."

"No, it's not necessary." She stopped by the door the pit turning to a rock that just slammed into her chest.

"You don't want me to come?"

"No, its best if you just stay here." He was out the door without another word.

There was a burst of laughter from behind her. "My I think we just saw the hermit break up with the disappointment." Hot in the face Leta saw three of the worst people she could have think of seeing such a moment between her and Newt.

"Bug off Meredith." Meredith just gave a twisted smirk and her two yes girls flanked her side, noses in the air and hands on hips.

"It must be something, not even Newt Scamander wants to be around you. Your ability to repel they should bottled it up and sell it as a potion." Leta moved fast, her wand out, Meredith and her friends moved to get theirs.

"Expelliarmus!" Leta's hand was wandless and the three other girls' eyes went wide their hands stopped, Professor Dumbledore stood just a few meters away catching the wand. "Ladies there is a rule, no magic in the halls." He walked up to the four of them all looking very guilt. A spike of anger mixed with fear of course the Gryffindor head teacher would catch her a Slytherin student about to curse a trio of Gryffindor's.

"It wasn't us sir, she pulled out her wand first." Meredith defended her friends agreeing.

"I'll talk to Leta you three need to get to class." He waved them off and Leta rolled her eyes ready for the lecture.

"Miss Lastrange,"

"They started it," She interrupted.

"I understand Miss Lastrange but magic used in the heat of the moment can cause damage that may not be irreversible." He handed her wand.

"So, I'm just supposed to sit and take it. Allow them to taunt me and bully me."

"You can always ask for help from your teachers." She scuffed at the statement; she wasn't a child.

"Are you going to give me a detention?" She asked.

"No but remember they were only trying to get a reaction out of you."

She picked up her bag. "Well it worked; words can hurt."

"Of course, they can hurt, what do you think a spell is?"

Leta headed down towards the Slytherins common room but detoured, not wanting to see any of her fellow students. Newt had abandoned her, and she had gotten lectured. Nothing had changed. She was still the blemish of her family, the talk of the school, it was no secret that her Father sent her to a school in another country to keep her away from the wizard families of France.

She found the room and used the enchantment Newt had taught her to get into the old storage room. It was dark, musty and small and in every corner was an animal. She took a seat and several snidgets surrounded. There plump yellow bodies darting back and forth and one taking rest on her shoulder.

Newt would steal them from the quidditch supply room every time a new one was sent. The teams were getting mad that they couldn't play properly but Newt didn't care. The birds were endangered and using them like a thing to be caught for sport was wrong.

Opening her hand to let on sit into it she stroked its wings until she fell asleep.

* * *

 

Newt made it back to the school grounds with just minutes to spare. Kicking off the dirt and tree needles he ran to his next class. He kept to himself and did his work the worry that a teacher or staff member would call him to the headmaster's office any minute.

His next class his nerves were better, if he had been caught, they would have called him by now but when he got into potions and didn't see Leta coming in with the rest of the Slytherins he was worried. Had she gotten in another fight? Had someone sent a jinx her way and she was at the nurse office? He chewed on his lips rolling the quill between his fingers building up the courage to lean over to one of the other Slytherin students and ask.

"Do you know where Leta is?" He asked once there was a break in the lecture. The student gave him a look of surprise.

"No, she wasn't in our last class." Newt sat back in his chair; something must have happened. When the class was dismissed, he head to the nurse office, but she wasn't there then he ran into another Slytherin girl and asked if she could see if Leta was in her room. The girl seemed annoyed and he waited fifteen minutes before he realized she wasn't come back out to tell him. Finally, he asked the portrait if Leta had come through and the man shook his head no.

Becoming more nervous he went to the owlery, but she wasn't there and then he tried the library. She had skipped two classes there were only so many places she could hid. Stopping in his tracks he remembered showing her where he hid all the sindgle's he stole. It had been a big secret of his that he did this, but he trusted Leta in keeping it and keeping them safe.

Running back down towards the dungeons past the Slytherin common rooms he came to the tucked away door. Using the spell, he entered the dark room.

"Langlock!" He dove to the ground as Leta's jinx hit the door behind him.

"Leta it's me!"

"I know it's you."

"Why are you trying to jinx's me?" He moved to get up as the birds darted wild and fast between the too of them.

"Because you embarrassed me today. Completely abandoning me like that, Meredith saw. So just get out of here, if you don't want to hang out with me, I don't want to hang out with you." Newt's face twisted, He liked hanging out with Leta she was one of his closes friend.

"I didn't hang out with you because don't want to I had something to take care of."

"What?"

"I well…"

"You won't even tell me. I thought we were friends."

"We are! It just it required me to break a big rule." She turned to him eyes big with intrigue.

"What rule?"

Chewing on his inner cheek he sat up. "I had to go into the forbidden forest."

"What? Newt the forbidden forest is…is well your not suppose to go in there, you could be expelled."

"I know but I had to go. A few days ago a couple of fifth years had cornered a javery, they were casting jinxs and trying to stun in. Javery's are bigger then ferrets but still a stunning spell is enough to kill it. I tried to stop them, but they kept me back and the one of them hit it with an inferno curse. The poor thing just lit on fire I was able to put it out, but it ran into the forest. I went after it and found it just lying there very badly injured. I didn't want to risk moving him and damaging his skin anymore the it already was so I casted several notice me not charms. I've been caring for him since."

"Wait you've been going into the forest regularly?"

"Yea."

"But this is the first day you went during break."

"Professor Dumbledore caught me two nights ago, I passed it off that I was going to the kitchen, but he's been watching me since. I needed to go today, restock his food and reapply the cream."

"Why didn't you take me I could have helped." She took the seat next to him one of the snidgets came zooming past hitting her in her face. They both busted out laughing the snidget shacking it off and flying high above them.

"Leta I'm already taking a risk going out there if were both caught that's it, no questions asked. What would your father say if you got expelled?"

"It doesn't matter what he'd say. You've been going this long without being caught please take me with you next time, I don't like being left in this place by myself."

"I don't need to go for another day or two."

"Well the next time you do go I want to go too, Please?"

"Okay, we'll go Saturday when most of the schools at Hogsmeade."


	2. Chapter 2

Leta heard the girls in her room moving around gathering their purse strings and giggling to one another. She stay in her bed the covers up to her chain waiting for them all to go so she could get ready. It had been two days since Newt promised to take her to the forbidden forest during which he had tried to convince her not to go. Calming it was dangerous and the punishment if they were caught.

But nothing worked she was determined to go with him. It actually hurt how much he tried to sway her as if he didn't trust her or though her to be like the other girls in this school fretting and fearful. She wasn't.

When all the girls left, and she got up and began getting ready. She waited a good fifteen minutes for the common room to be empty of everyone except the first and second years to young to go and then she headed to the herbology greenhouse.

She only pasted a couple students and the caretaker but none gave her a second glance, she waited by the back corner of the 4th greenhouse hidden by the third and fifth on either side and a few minutes later bronzy red hair poorly combed came around and met her.

"You weren't followed right?" Newt asked.

"No."

"Alright now the javery is on the other side of the school closer to the lake but its easier to get into the forest from here and just walk the perimeter." He spoke matter of factly his words surprisingly still and confident. "Here," he tired a string around her wrist then around his own, "so we don't get separated."

"You make it sound like when we walk into the forest, I'm going to lose my wits completely." She gave a smile as she spoke.

"Well its dangerous in there, a lot of uncharted area and undiscovered beast. I've been lucky not to have run into more vicious animals but even something as harmless as a pixie can be overwhelming when you have dozens coming at you." He took his wand out and led her into the forest.

The smell of wet wood and moss overwhelmed her and in the shade of the overgrowth the noon sky darkened. She could see into the distance as the forest bended around them and felt Newt tugging on her wrist.

As they moved, she got used to the sounds and the sky and school grounds would peek out at her every few paces. Newt had marked several trees to lead them in the right direction. He was tense the way he held his shoulders and kept crouched over.

Leta brought up her free hand and jab him squarely in between his shoulder blades. He jumped and grabbed at her looking around at what had touched him.

"Newt please you need to calm down. Your taking all the fun out of this." He attempted to glare at her but was unable to hold the eye contact.

"Well this isn't met to be fun."

"Come on Newt how often have you been coming out here and at night too and nothing has happened to you."

"Yes, well its different, come on we're almost there."

* * *

 

Newt was irritated at Leta, something he didn't feel often but her pestering and inability to take being in the forest seriously was running thin on him. Yes, he had been coming into the forbidden forest but that doesn't mean he had come out complexly unscathed.

He had documented several different beasts in his journal during his visits and have come across the centaurs, foul smelling turtle like things that left him nauseous for days and a disgruntled insect that had tried to borrow into his skin. The memory of it made his shudder.

He paused coming to an opening of tall grass and uprooted trees. Leta stopped behind him and taking her hand they climb into the brush.

A squeaking voice yelling profanity dashed out from under a root and jumped at Leta. She gave a startled 'oh' and fell back. Before the over sized ferret could do any damage, Newt grabbed for it and the foul langued continued.

"It can talk?" Leta asked breathlessly.

"Yes, but not like you and me, it's more of mimicking vocal patterns, you wouldn't be able to have a conversation with it and all it likes to say is bad words." He struggled to get the animal to calm in his hands as its focus was on Leta.

Pinching it by the scruff of its neck the body went limp. Newt held on to him like this grabbing the ointment and spreading over the back and under side of the animal. His skin had healed well and soon the hair would start growing back. Newt figure maybe another week of coming to care for him before he would be ready to go off on his own.

Setting down he grabbed the few pieces of boiled chicken he saved from last nights dinner and some berries and set them on a rock in front of him. He gestured for Leta to also take a seat, then when she did let the animal go.

He sat in Newts lap quitely and sniffing the air, then dashed out to the rock and began eating the food. Leta laughed, "When he's not cursing at you and about to pounce, he actually cute."

"He's normally pretty sweet but considering his last run in with humans he's protective." He snapped his fingers and made a cooing sound and the javery crawled back into his lap. He held out his hands to Leta, placing her in his he led her to the animal.

It tenses the hair going on ends. Newt with his free hand rubbed the top of his head and made soothing sounds. Slowly their hands that were connected brushed the fur on top of his neck. Leta held her breath as Newt brushed their fingertips over slowly then let go of her hand allowing her to brush.

After a minute it began to purr. "It's like a cat!"

"Most animals are friendly with the right sort of people." Newt said.

"Yea I doubt Meredith, or her friends would ever get this close, they'd probably call it a rat and run off." She laughed at the mental image, but Newt's face stayed hard.

"I want to change that. There's no laws protecting animals, so many people fear them because they don't understand them. I want to make people see that they aren't all dangerous with out any reason for their outburst. If people realize that animals work very similar to humans than maybe things like what happened to this javery won't happen in the future."

"I think that sound like a good goal." She paused, "Have you named it?" He felt his face heat.

"You have? What is it why didn't you tell me?"

"I didn't want you to make fun of me."

"Oh come now Newt I would never make fun of you without good reason." She laughed and he followed.

"Damsel." The javery crooked its head. "I named him damsel before I new it was a boy but he response to the name."

Leta bit her lip her eyes watering with tears but she was unable to hold in the laugh. "Damsel as in Damsel in distress." Newt turned away from her as she continued.

"I'm sorry Newt, I'm sorry it makes perfect since. You will be the hero that saves all the animals. Right Damsel." He looked up at her and Leta scratched at his check and he continued to purr

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ***Sorry it's been so long with this chapter, had a lot on my plate. Let me know what you thing and check out my tumblr sskinner155 and my youtube channel IDK What I'm Doing***

**Author's Note:**

> *** So the whole sniget being used as the first golden snich actually ended much earlier before Newt was born but I liked the idea that if it hadn't he would steal them and keep them safe somewhere in the castle. I was inspired the other day to write the scene of Newt being expelled, this will probably be a short series but let me know what you thing, also check out my tumblr sskinner155 and Youtube channel IDK What I'm Doing***


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